Sue's purchases and travels

In June we cruised through the Norwegian Fjords and went as far north as Cape Horn. It was in this area that I saw my first "Sami" people, also referred to as LapLanders. I knew a little bit about them from our travels to Finland and Sweden. Over the years, as I traveled Sweden buying Antiques and furniture for the shop I would pick up some paintings, or carvings, or dishes featuring Sami. For those who aren't familiar with Sami they look (to me, at least) like our Native Americans or Inuit people. They are, generally, reindeer herders. They live in collapsible tents in arctic areas and follow the reindeer. We first saw herds of reindeer (Pure white! They are selectively bred to be white since it is the more popular fur color) and then saw the Sami people. These were "tourist" Sami's....I'm sure....because they were set up to sell crafts, show their tents, and let you pet the reindeer. That said, they still wore the traditional costume and offered for sale reindeer fur (I didn't buy any...I'm not a fur person!) wonderful woolen hats and tassel crafts. The landscape was amazing for what you did not see.....TREES! The permafrost is such that nothing grows other than reindeer moss. (Gray curly stuff that Swedes use around candles at Christmas time)